Turquoise Roses
by Amethyst Rise
Summary: Green was tired of getting rejected. Blue was tired of being blindly accepted.
1. Chapter 1

He wasn't one for school. He was always bored. Students milled around him – talking, but never to him. He was avoided like the plague but one needed only to observe closer to see a gaggling group of girls at the back of the classroom whispering behind their hands about him. All he could see were fake nails and useless amounts of makeup, hiding the ugly insecurities which each of them carried under their skimpy clothing. He wasn't interested.

Rumours once flooded the school. The papers printed that he was gay.

He never bothered to correct them. He let them figure is asexuality for themselves. He left the kissing behind the hedges business to the likes of his older brother. He was utterly bored. There was nothing for the school to teach him. He had read ahead in every subject. He knew every useless fact. He was familiar with every idea. He had his own ideas as well. Too bad that they were never permitted.

So he stopped. He stopped attending. He stopped thinking. He stopped feeling the despair at every rejection. He was happy to spend his days wasting away and sleeping in the old abandoned greenhouse. He was alone. It was a fact. He never expected to have company. He never expected to be wrong but as these stories go, he was.


	2. Favours

It was one summer day, on the cusp of autumn, when he was proved wrong. He was dozing lightly. Nobody cared that he was gone. As long as he turned up for tests, he was fine.

He was content to gaze up with his emerald green eyes at the dancing sunrays today. Half dreaming, he almost didn't hear the door sliding open; the sound of its rough, rusty edges scraping against each other was muted by the haze which had settled into his mind. He thought that he was still dreaming when a face appeared above his. He noticed her eyes first - her deep aquamarine eyes.

 _Nobody had eyes like that_ , was his first thought. She gave a hesitant smile. He thought that he should get up to be polite. He stood up properly, ruffling his hair to shake out the dust. She was about a head shorter than him. She wore a different uniform to his.

She wore Pallet Village. He wore Viridian High. She smiled again and gestured to the tree in the corner which had smashed the glass of the ceiling and wall. He nodded. She turned back to him and smiled before bounding over to the shady leaves and sitting down. She pulled out a small memo book and began writing. He didn't disturb her. It was none of his business.

He simply lent down again to sleep. But he couldn't. He continuously heard the scratching of her pen and the soft breathing of nature around him. He heard her cheap cotton ruffle every time she moved. It was too unfamiliar. It was strange really. Nobody knew where the greenhouse was. He was guaranteed never to be disturbed. He wondered why she was here. His mind raced with theories, predictions and stories. He let it be his lullaby and slowly, as if in a boat, he drifted off to sleep.

He awoke to his cheek being poked. The sky was showing the first signs of orange. The door was open and he felt a faint, cool breeze. The girl was still here. She was holding a bottle of water in front of him. He reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around it. The cold seemed to seep into his bones. He was thankful and nodded his head.

Sleeping on the concrete floor didn't hurt his back anymore. He stood up and twisted the flimsy cap off and drowned the bottle in one gulp. His throat sang with joy. The girl was still here. She was smiling. Green didn't smile back. He walked over to the exit and held the door open for her. He made a mental note to give her something in return.


	3. Names

She was there again the next day. Green was woken up when the door screeched shut. She gave him a small smile before moving towards the tree again before settling in.

Green sat up and pulled out a pack of tuna sandwiches from his bag. His older sister Daisy always made them whilst he never ate them. It was a routine.

He was going to give her something which had similar value. He saw that she was looking at him. He stood up and walked over to her, arms outstretched, sandwiches ready to be given. She looked puzzled.

"For the water," he said. He realised that this was the first time any of them had spoken.

Her eyes widened. She eagerly grabbed them, stored them in her bag, stood up and gave Green a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes briefly before letting go again. Green didn't hug back. There wasn't enough time to. He was perfectly able to process what was happening.

She stood back again, putting space between them and smiled. Green nodded and walked back to his space in the sun to sleep again.

He briefly heard the sound of plastic being ripped in the midst of his dreams and the sound made him smile.

xxxxx

He woke up before the girl could wake him this time. She was smiling down at him, hand ready to pull him up and out of his sleepy haze.

"Thanks for the sandwiches."

Her voice was soft and reminded him of vaguely of tinkling bells.

"My name's Blue. What's your name?"

"Green."

"Thank you again Green for the sandwiches. I'll probably see you tomorrow."

Something didn't seem right. Something on the edge of his memory nagged him. Her words were familiar. They shouldn't have been but they were. They reminded him of something his older brother would say. The sass and confidence that he emitted had been toned down since he had met his mountain hiking boyfriend but still…

Whenever he used those words, it was a reminder that the douche was still there. Was this girl – Blue – like him? Hiding the pain of loneliness and never being enough behind a smile.

"Probably?"

"I might go to school for once," she replied smiling.

Green realised that he didn't want to be alone.


	4. Friend

He was thankful that she was there the next day. He was worried but his stoic face never showed it. It never gave any emotion away. It was sometimes a blessing, other times a curse.

"Yo." He never instigated conversations. That's what his brother did.

She smiled back and replied with a _hi_. His body was ready to sleep the day away again basking in the sun but his mind was not. He wanted to ask about yesterday. Opening his mouth, he was about to speak but she began before he did:

"Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life? "

He recognised the poem. _First year poetry poem two by Mary Oliver_ , mind chimed.

"Have you heard of it? It's my favourite." She supplied, ripping it out of her book and tearing it into pieces as small as snowflakes. Green sat up and stared in bewilderment.

If it's her favourite, why is she tearing it up?

For once in his life, no answer was coming to him.

"I'm ripping it up so I can't annotate it. It's poetry. It's art. Art isn't meant to be analysed to death, broken down and be examined as if it's some code. Art isn't supposed to be seen from one perspective as if it's right." Blue huffed out.

"You get more marks by looking at it through multiple perspectives." Green pointed out.

"Yeah, but at the end, you're expected to come to a conclusion. That conclusion will be marked wrong if it's not the collective's conclusion because everyone's copied off of the teacher and her conclusion will be accepted as the only correct one."

Green was stunned. She was right. He remembered back to a time when he rebelled and had put down his own thoughts. He had expressed his opinion only for it to be shot down. Writing about how the girl was sad that she couldn't always help due to her lack of time and capability had only seen him scolded for not focussing on her infatuation with the grasshopper instead.

Blue started talking again.

"I don't like school because they never let me do what I want to do. There's no freedom anymore. Everyone's a clone of each other and they change their opinions so fast, you could get whiplash if you're not careful. The teachers are evil as well. Pay attention, write in black, wear black socks, no day dreaming, no drawing, write when I tell you, listen to what I say, no speaking, no answering back, answer the question…"

Green could see her get angrier and angrier with no sign of stopping. He had never noticed the restrictions before, perfectly content to drift in his own small bubble, knowing all the relevant facts.

"I don't like school because I'm never free to experiment and explore my own ideas," Green cut her off. She bounded over and hugged him tight. He could feel her smiling. He was able to wrap his arms around her this time, returning the hug. They spent the day debating and talking.

What was good? What was evil?

Was it all subjective?

Have theft and lies always been unacceptable?

He learnt that Blue was a designer - an architect. He was glad to know more about her. He was glad to speak to her. He was glad to speak his own mind for once and not be shunned.

He was glad to call her his friend.


	5. Sick

She didn't come the next day. He was worried. He had had fun yesterday, debating for with someone who listened and understood. He had experienced fun. Fun.

He was a little surprised thinking with hindsight. He never did talk much. He had never wanted to but Blue had made him want to talk. He gave a small smiled. Blue had made him smile. Daisy's wedding vows to her husband Bill echoed in his ears.

 _"I am here today to marry the man who made me laugh and smile and never want to stop."_

It was a bitter memory. He was letting his older sister go, letting his mother figure go, even if it was to a house two streets down from where she lived before. He was sad but as the sun shone on and the day passed by, he convinced himself to be less worried. He had felt the strength of her hugs, he knew that she would be safe. He knew that she was strong. He wasn't going to doubt her.

She didn't come the next day either. Now, he was slightly more worried. It was Friday. He wasn't going to come here for the weekend. He was going to stay at home obviously. He had no reason to come. The leaves on the tree which she leaned on were starting to turn gold. Soon, they would turn to a chestnut brown just like her hair and soon they would fall, ready to be swept away by him lest they disturb his rest.

 _Rest from what?_ his mind asked.

He didn't want to answer for his own uselessness. It would defeat the point of his motivation to break the rules and explore ideas for himself. He was doing nothing for a world that expected everything. He knew that he was no Nikola Tesla despite having the knowledge, money and capability to become a man with an equal legacy to him. He knew that he was no Victor Frankenstein; he was willing to own up to his mistakes.

The door slamming open jolted him out of his thoughts.

It was a boy with shoulder length red hair with strikingly familiar silver eyes. They were Giovanni's eyes. The man who had left his neighbour's mother pregnant before leaving to protect his big business from scandal. This boy seemed to be wilder, more angry and more like Green than Red. More unloved and more oppressed. Red was optimistic and as carefree as a high-schooler could be. This character wasn't.

Green made a mental note to steal some WD-40 from Bill's garage.

"Blue's ill. She wanted me to tell you not to worry." The boy began to leave but not before Green scrambled up and grabbed his arm. Realising immediately what he had done, he let go. His arm uselessly hung by his side as the much shorter boy glared before walking off again. Green decided to follow, tired of sleeping for once.

The boy never said a word and he was content to stay quiet too. He mimicked him and shoved his hands in his pocket. This was another one of Giovanni's kids. Green wondered how many the man had. How many scandals and women he had paid off over the years.

The kid was edging looks at him as they neared the trees which separated the road from the field. "Name?" the kid grunted.

"Green."

"Oak." It was not a question.

Green gave an almost silent sigh. Of course his last name would define him. He wasn't disappointed anymore. Gramps would be disappointed for him and his brothers. Daisy and Gary were the only ones that he was relatively proud of. She was the only one really going for the sciences and his youngest sibling was obsessed with fossils and bringing back the ancients. His older brother was a gym leader and he wanted to be one too. Funny how he was called Blue as well. He'd be referred to now as Blue 2 just like those idiots with code names in the school detective club: White 2 and Black 2.

Green narrowed his eyes down at the boy. "Name?" he asked.

"Silver."

It seemed that everyone he was meeting these days were named after colours.

"Who are you?" he inquired. He didn't trust the kid.

"Blue's brother," was grunted out again. Green was beginning to question the kid's manners. He didn't like him. He only spoke in grunts. They reached the main road and not a second later, the red head was tackled to the ground.

"Gold! Get off of me!" Silver yelled, kicking his attacker with the ferociousness of a lion. Green wondered vaguely if the kid needed therapy. Gold got off of Silver and turned to Green. Green recognised him as the kid that was kicked out about a year ago for whacking another student over the head with a billiard cue over a game - something about cheating. He seemed to attend Pallet now as well. Striking a pose, Gold introduced himself despite Green knowing his name and pointing it out. Silver mumbled curses under his breath as he stood up.

And subsequently knocked down again by another new comer. She was the newspaper club leader always annoying him. Gold was bent double laughing. Green didn't see what was so funny. Lyra at least had the decency to apologise.

Gold yanked Green down by putting an arm around his neck and made him aware of Silver and Lyra's ' I like him/her but I don't want to stay anything because he/she might not like me back so I'll wait for him/her to confess first' situation. Green scowled.

"Skipping school now are we Silver?" Gold nudged him, slyly smirking. Silver composed himself and glared, albeit slightly redder from being in close proximity to the ditzy girl.

"Enough!" Green interjected. "Just take me to Blue."

"Ooh, Green my man-"

"Shut it Gold."

The group walked in relative silence only broken by Gold making comments about Silver and Lyra holding hands as they walked through the forest and followed the path into the town. When they were on the final stretch, Silver veered off into the thicket. Green was concerned but of course his face didn't show it.

They reached a house by the river. Silver pulled out the key from a hanging basket full of petunias. It slid in and the lock clicked open and closed when everyone was inside.

"You two clicked like that lock."

"Shut it Gold," coming from Lyra. Silver had grown seemingly immune at this point.

"Go up the stairs and it's the second on the right."

Green nodded his thanks. He was glad to have kept his sandwiches today instead of binning them before he met Blue.


	6. Sunlight

She was paler than before. The light tan that Blue always had was gone. She was asleep. Suddenly, Green felt shy. He felt bad for intruding. He felt bad for not bringing more than tuna sandwiches. He frowned and opted to sit on the chair facing the bed.

The room was small but simple. It had pink wall paper patterned with faded yellow sunflowers – the type that you expect to see in your grandparents' home. The bed which Blue lay on was pushed against the wall. A small window was next to it and on the far wall, there was a desk and closet.

The room felt impersonal. There was no mess, no mementos and it was too silent. Blue began to stir and Green held his breath. She mumbled incoherently and turned over to face the wall. Green took it as a sign to leave.

xxx

 _"So… me and Lyra got together. You were right." Silver looked down and fiddled with his gloves. They were a birthday present from last year and were showing no signs of fray yet. Blue looked up from under her blankets, smiling with laughing eyes._

 _Pale moonlight flooded the room, illuminating the vase of bluebells and paracetamol._

xxx

"You never told me that you were allergic to tuna."

"When you need to eat, you need to eat. I didn't know I was allergic to tuna."

Green was still angry. Silver didn't see it.

They were in the greenhouse again but today was stormy. A light drizzle fell on the other side of the glass. Blue levelled her eyes coolly towards Green – unafraid. They sat in silence. Blue now had a chicken sandwich, courtesy of Daisy again. She gave a little smile to Green. Silver was sat, doing algebra in the corner by the door.

"Why do you never eat?" Blue asked. The scratching of pencil stopped.

"I don't need to." Green replied.

"Yes you do."

"No. I don't."

To Blue, Green was pouting. You couldn't see the puffed up cheeks but the slight glance to the floor was too easy for her to read. She passed one sandwich to Silver, knowing that he was hungry. She tore off a piece of her sandwich, passing it to Green. He made no move to claim it. She smirked.

Before Green could blink, she leaped across from the tree to him, pinched his nose and stuffed the piece into his mouth. Green glared at her but his gaze held no malice. Her Cheshire Cat smile was enough to make him swallow the piece. She gave him a hug (which he returned) and skipped back to her spot.

Silver snorted. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

A ray of sunshine broke out from the clouds.


	7. Smile

Green, suffice to say, brought his own lunch as well. He had put together a crude cheese sandwich and had taken a chicken sandwich made by Daisy as well. When he was about to leave, he decided that it was best to get some extra food for Silver, just in case. His bus fare was enough. He didn't know what Silver liked so he assumed that the kid had the same tastes as Blue.

He arrived late that day. Blue was worried. Her face was stricken when Green entered half an hour late. She could see that he was panting from exertion but that did nothing to quell her fears. She hugged him as soon as he closed the rickety old door, knocking him to the ground. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Where were you?!"

Green patted her on the head, still under her. She sat up and covered her eyes with one arm.

"Dummy."

She feebly attempted to punch Green. He took her hand and held it. His face conveyed nothing but the subtle stroking of her palm told Blue that he was sorry - that he regretted his actions.

xxx

 _"Green! Hey!" Red called. They hadn't seen each other in what seemed like years. He stared impassively upwards from his book, a slight pout beginning to form._

 _"Do you want to play with me?" Red called, waving around a Pokémon teddy, holding a small blonde girl's hand._

Cold water woke him up from his dreams. Silver stood over him, eye twitching with annoyance. Blue was scribbling in a notepad by her tree. Silver kicked him and scowled before trudging over to his spot near the door to continue working on now Macbeth.

"Lunch time Green," Blue mumbled. Green inaudibly sighed and sat up. He pulled out his own crude attempt of sandwiches for himself before tossing the store bought ones over to Silver. The kid had apparently been watching Green as he caught them without trouble.

He got up and walked over to Blue so he could give her Daisy's made sandwiches. She took them, gave him a smile but as he was about to go back to his spot, she grabbed his hand and sat him down in front of her. She casually got up, mauled her brother over to sit with Green and sat down herself, the trio forming a triangle.

"Lunch now will be communal," she said smiling like a sunflower.

Green found himself loving her smile.


	8. Family

Green was in trouble. He didn't know how but his entire family with their significant others were crowding around the dining room table in the small cramped kitchen. Green was more astounded that everyone could fit. He knew that he should be more focused on the disappointed looks he was given and the letter on the table than the jigsaw arrangement of everyone.

He chewed on his toast slowly, face giving nothing away. He was going to have to go to school today. Blue would be worried. He glanced at the clock hanging on the tiled wall. It ticked agonisingly slowly.

"Green, why?" Daisy spoke up first, "Did we do something wrong? Did the school do something wrong? What is it Green?"

He had nothing to say. Why should he say anything?

He walked out of the room, ready to meet Blue.

"Green! Come back!" It was his older brother's boyfriend, Red's brother. He was glad that they packed themselves in behind the table – only harder for them to get out.

He slipped on his shoes and walked outside. Gary was piling rocks near the door. He scrunched up his face when Green stepped out.

"I want to go to Ash." He was dead serious.

"You never go to school. Daisy was crying yesterday. You can take me to Ash."

When Green looked into those doe brown eyes, he saw himself. He saw the child he was and the future he gained. A reclusive shell of a once happy, naive child who wanted to become Champion.

"I'll take you."

Gary smiled and hugged his brother's leg, too small to reach any higher.

He placed a post it note on the inside of the door before locking it. Gary demanded to be picked up and Green granted his wish. He walked them down the path to Pallet and towards Blue, Silver and his greenhouse. They made a sharp right before reaching the forest, turning into the fields.

"Why are we going this way?" Gary's smile tugged into a frown of confusion. He scratched his head and squinted to see where they were going.

"We're going to pick up a friend-"

"You mean girlfriend."

Green looked sharply down at the 3 year-old, eyes wide open. He opened his mouth about to speak but wisely said nothing as the devious child revelled in his new discovery.

"She has long hair. There was one on your blazer. Is she pretty?" Gary teased.

"Shut it or no chocolate Umbreons," said Green with a stern finality.

The kid snickered.

xxx

Blue spent the entire journey cooing over the small child in Green's arms. Silver and Green followed sullenly behind.

"Buy the kid some sweets, shut him up and I won't attack you for being with Blue today." Silver mumbled under his breath. Green could still hear the deadly warning and felt it best to agree with Silver. The two had bonded over being ignored by the one they had valued the most present currently.

"You do it. I'll pay you extra. Get the Umbreons." Green handed his wallet to Silver who shoved it in his pocket as soon as he got it.

Silver had secretly admitted that he held Lyra on a similar pedestal and that he would go against his sister if he had to. His knife like eyes made Green promise never to give away that information to Blue. He had a suspicion that Blue knew anyway. Gary continuously pulled faces at Green, sparking more and more jealousy.

Finally, they had reached Pallet Town. Green was to then navigate but before he could, Gary leapt out of Blue's arms and down the road surrounding the path. Green bolted almost immediately in concern with Blue following closely.

They found the 6-year-old climbing over a white, wooden fence going towards a picturesque cottage. Green grabbed him and turned him round so they were eye to eye.

"No climbing. Ash's mother said that they had moved remember. We are going to walk past the fountain."

Gary paled. He didn't want to. Green wasn't that cruel. He couldn't go past the fountain.

"NO!" He screamed. He kicked, punched, bit, shook and made all manner of noises.

Blue's eyes widened.

Silver was now at her side, holding a packet of chocolate Umbreons. His eyes were wide too. He nudged Blues side and she whispered something in return. They were currently not his problem. Gary was.

Tears streamed down the child's face. He lashed out, struggling, for what seemed hours before quieting down. Before seeing the lone tear trickle down Green's face before it was wiped away.

They walked passed the fountain.

People froze up when they saw the siblings. They became hushed and whispered. One child stood up, ready to shout, but one look at Green's face told him not to. The mask was gone. He didn't stand a chance. He stepped down. Gary ate his chocolate Umbreons slowly, nibbling on each one individually and reluctant to then take another.

They eventually came across another equally perfect looking house. A lady was in the front garden, humming and picking tomatoes. A young boy was playing beside her with pokéball shaped marbles, trying to roll them into a small circle drawn with chalk.

When the lady noticed the people at her gate, she smiled. Green made no indication of seeing her. Gary hopped down from his arms and bowed respectfully. He then dashed off to play as if he had never cried beforehand. Blue and Silver stood perplexed.

The woman smiled and invited them into her house. Green's eyes were downcast, holding every door and gate open for the siblings who went with him.

"You have his eyes, Silver." The woman said.

"Whose eyes?" was the dark reply by said boy.

"Oh, No-one."

And the conversation was done.

Green went to the back garden and made himself scarce. Silver and Blue were left with the woman in the living room. She told them to sit down. They did. She told them to drink some tea. They did. She told them that they could help themselves to some biscuits. So they did.

"I know that what you saw just then hasn't left the best impression of Green on you. You mustn't let that change your opinion of him. I asked him to do that and since he believes that he owes such a big debt to me, he just does it. Kind of like you two. Having my tea and biscuits just because you were told to."

She was frowning but you could tell that she didn't hold a grudge. Blue and Silver said nothing. She was a stranger.

"A long time ago. Green used to live here. He played with another one of my sons, Red, all day, every day until his parents died in a car crash. His grandma died of grief and his grandfather just three himself into work. His older sister moved him to Viridian City because she thought that it would be better to have a change of scenery where there weren't so many memories.

When she was searching for a place to stay, his grandfather went mad. The man started attacking Green. Gary and Daisy are the only ones really interested in continuing the family legacy of science. They wanted to be battlers and because that didn't fit in with the legacy...

Green's older brother stayed with his boyfriend, Gary stayed with me by Green's request and Daisy stayed with Bill mostly.

I should have seen the signs. Green stayed behind to keep the man alive and learnt from all the text books in the lab and the old hand me down school ones so he was always ahead. Red always told me how quiet he was getting and that we should let him come over for a meal because he was getting thinner but I had no money. My restaurant was going through a rough patch and Red would have missed out on having text books if it wasn't for Green giving it all up for Red. The two missed out on school trips all the time because Red could never accept the money.

Ever since Red started dating a girl, Yellow, Green stopped attending school. Red thought it was because they couldn't go out as much but Green said that it wasn't it. I knew that Green was going to give up on life at some point. I think that seeing Red happy was just a catalyst. He was always trying to make Red happy before he changed. He probably felt as if his job was over. You two are helping him. He was starting to show emotions again. He normally locks them up but he's finally starting to accept himself.

Thank you."

There was pause. A silence. Blue lifter her head up.

The woman smiled and nodded encouragingly.

Blue put down her tea cup. She smiled and held her hand out.

"Hello, I'm Blue and this is my brother Silver." Silver nodded.

The woman shook her hand.

"Hello. I'm Mrs Ketchum. Call me Delia.


End file.
